A Word on the Etiquette of Fasting.

The Shaykh : We begin this session by speaking about what is feasible regarding the etiquette of fasting.
Among the etiquettes of fasting is that a person should pay attention to the etiquettes that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). One of them is the pre-dawn meal. The pre-dawn meal, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is a command, and he explained the wisdom: This is a command, and First: it contains obedience to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and there is no doubt that obedience to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is good and a blessing. Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: This is its blessing.
Among the blessings of this pre-dawn meal is that it distinguishes us from the fasting of the People of the Book, because the People of the Book do not eat the pre-dawn meal. They eat food before the middle of the night and begin their fast from the middle of the night to the middle of the day. But the Muslims eat the pre-dawn meal at the end of the night.
Among its blessings is that it nourishes the body throughout the day and enables it to endure abstaining from food and drink, even in the long, hot days of summer. Whereas a person who is not fasting is found drinking five or six times a day and eating twice. But this pre-dawn meal, in which Allah places a blessing, enables the body to endure.
Among the blessings of the pre-dawn meal is that it is an aid in obeying Allah, meaning in fasting. And whatever is an aid in obeying Allah is good and a blessing.
The most important thing now that I want us to do when the pre-dawn meal is presented to you is to realize now, when you eat, that you are what? You are obeying the command of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him). It is not just eating to strengthen yourself for the fast; you are obeying the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
Second: Realize that you are emulating him, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to eat the pre-dawn meal and then stand up for prayer. Between his pre-dawn meal and the prayer was the length of fifty verses. That means he delayed the pre-dawn meal, may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him. Realize this, my brother, so that your eating becomes worship.
Also, realize another matter, which is that by this you differ from the People of the Book. The People of the Book are fasting at this time, because they fast from when? From the middle of the night. But you are now eating, differing from them. Because differing from the People of the Book is pleasing to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, for they are the enemies of Allah. So differing from them is pleasing to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and conforming to them is feared to bring down wrath upon the person. For this reason, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) forbade entering churches when the Christians are worshipping in them, and he said:
Peace be upon you. Yes, keep him busy. Good.
And among the etiquettes of fasting is that a person should occupy his time with the obedience of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, through the remembrance of Allah, reading the Qur'an, charity, and doing good to people. Because Do not make your day of fasting like your day of breaking the fast. Make humility and worship your state, and read the Qur'an more than you read the Qur'an, because the month of Ramadan is the month of the Qur'an. When was the Qur'an revealed? In Ramadan. So it is the month of the Qur'an. Increase in reading the Qur'an with reflection and contemplation, and with the presence of mind that you are reading the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, the words of the Lord of the worlds. Have you seen if a person reads a book that was sent to him by his friend, what would his feeling be when reading this book? Yes, he realizes that his friend is before him. Also, you are reading the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, my brother. Be polite, be polite with the etiquettes of the Qur'an, as if Allah is addressing you now. If He says: You are the first to enter it. He is addressing you, so realize this so that the Qur'an has greatness in your heart. And for this reason, it is forbidden for the one in a state of major ritual impurity to read the Qur'an, out of respect for the Qur'an, until he takes a full ritual bath. It is forbidden for the one in a state of minor ritual impurity to touch the Qur'an until he performs the ablution. It is forbidden for a person to bring the mushaf into dirty places like the bathroom and the like, except out of dire necessity. The important thing is that the Qur'an is the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Realize that when you read it, you are reading the words of the Lord of the worlds, the Mighty and Majestic. It is not ordinary speech; it is the word of Allah.
And among the etiquettes of fasting is that a person breaks his fast early, as soon as the disk of the sun sets. Break your fast even if the day is still bright, if the disk has set, break your fast, whether the call to prayer has been made or not. That means, suppose you are in a high place and you see that the sun has set and the disk has disappeared, and the mu'adhdhins have not called to prayer, break your fast. By the saying of Allah the Exalted: And the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): And hasten to break the fast. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: This means that if they do not hasten to break the fast, they are not in good. This is the implication of the hadith. Break your fast on fresh dates. Fresh dates are now, praise be to Allah, available. If you are in the season of fresh dates, they are available. And if you are not, they are available because people keep them in refrigerators and freezers, as if it were winter now. If you do not find them, then on dried dates. If you do not find them, then on water. Even if you have other food, bread or rice or sweets, do not break your fast on them if you have water. Break your fast on water. Good, if you have milk and water, break your fast on water, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Good, and if you do not find, for example, in a desert where the sun has set, and you have no fresh dates, no dried dates, and no water, then on whatever food you have, any food. If you do not find anything, then the intention: intend that you have ended the fast and cut off the fast. There is no need to do what the common people say. The common people say, "Blow your shemagh with saliva, then take it out, then put it back and suck it." Yes, because if saliva separates and then you put it back and swallow it, you have broken your fast. No, no, do not rush, do not rush. This has no basis, it has no basis. If you do not find anything, intend, and the intention is sufficient.
And it is recommended when breaking the fast to supplicate to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, with whatever good of this world and the Hereafter you wish. And if you are on a hot summer day and you are thirsty and you drink, say: As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to do this.
Standing in night prayer is the tarawih. And A whole night, praise be to Allah, and you are on your bed. And this is a blessing. For this reason, when the Companions asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to complete the night with them, to stand the whole night, he said to them: And you are on your bed. Pay attention to this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say, "Stand up when I finish, then you stand up until Fajr if you wish." This indicates that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) intended ease for them. That they are done with standing in night prayer when the imam says the closing salam, and there is no need for them to stand in the last part of the night. And if they do that, meaning: they stand with the imam until he finishes, Allah writes for them the standing of a whole night, even if they were sleeping on their beds. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
I'tikaf is also related to Ramadan, and it is that a person remains attached to the mosque from the setting of the sun on the night of the twentieth to the setting of the sun on the last day of Ramadan, to devote himself to worship. So this is good, and it has reward and following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). And if it is not feasible because you are busy with your family, and the family has no one to take care of them, then your occupation with them and their care is better than i'tikaf.
I ask Allah the Exalted to grant us and you success and guidance to what He loves and is pleased with. Indeed, He is capable of all things. Now to the questions. We start from the right.